Goodman employs repetition on several occasions throughout the piece

Goodman employs repetition on several occasions throughout the piece, she does this in order to replicate the formalities of the work place. This in turn makes the piece dull in tone, often times stating the exact timing of events, explaining that “Phil died finally and precisely, at 3:00 a.m” and that “at 5:00 p.m of the afternoon of the funeral… He asked around: “Who’s been working the hardest?””. This use of language alludes to Phil’s life not being abstract but rather black and white — dull in nature. Alongside this, Goodman repeatedly uses exact numbers to further demonstrate the formalities of the work place. Rather than stating that Phil was overweight, she explains that he was 20 or 25 pounds overweight. The most notable occurrence of the use of numbers, is when introducing a character into the piece. Rather than using the names of the character she uses their age, she explains that “the youngest child of Phil is twenty, a boy” and that “his second child is a girl, who is twenty-four”. Goodman does this in order to shows an objective view on Phil’s life and illustrates how through the use of exact numbers, is able to create a dull and neutral tone — showing her disinterest and lack for remorse towards the character.